General News Thread

[Valv.Piti]

270km it's actually gonna be worse I think cause then it's just 2 possible winners, and considering one of them would also likely win Rwanda WC and not show up it's not all that great to me. Could go up to 220 km for me but it doesn't need more.

Well what I meant was that I would like to see with kind of route with more at stake and at Worlds youre not going to do 200k, but rather 270. Also, I don't really want to randomly see Bardet or Ben Healy win the jersey, Worlds that is

 

[Sciatic]

Interesting sidenote: Vatican City has a rider entered in the EC RR

 

[Libertine Seguros]

So we have the Faun-Ardèche classic and Tour du Rwanda championship courses. Those are not the two races held at that point of the season I would like to see turned into championship races.

Let me guess, Ster van Zwolle and Grand Prix Apollon Temple?

 

[StryderHells]

Interesting sidenote: Vatican City has a rider entered in the EC RR

Is it that 40+ year old that started the last 2 WC road races?

 

[Sciatic]

Is it that 40+ year old that started the last 2 WC road races?

I don’t know—I now remember someone pointing that out for one of the world’s.

 

[Coffeeplanter]

Came out yesterday, but Sven Vanthourenhout will be leaving the Belgian federation to probably become a DS on a trade team, with a multitude of teams being named. Man is just falling straight upwards because he has Remco and Wout on his team.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Came out yesterday, but Sven Vanthourenhout will be leaving the Belgian federation to probably become a DS on a trade team, with a multitude of teams being named. Man is just falling straight upwards because he has Remco and Wout on his team.

There were rumours about UAE wanting him.

Also, I've heared that Greg Van Avermaet might become the new coach of the Belgian NT.

 

[Squire]

Pogacar and Vingegaard can relax again. Blummenfelt ditches his cycling plans: https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...esses-pause-on-project-to-win-tour-de-france/

 

[Mako]

Pogacar and Vingegaard can relax again. Blummenfelt ditches his cycling plans: https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...esses-pause-on-project-to-win-tour-de-france/

He will be way too old for the fast paced Olympic Triathlon then. Right now he'd still have an interesting shot at becoming a pro cyclist. Hell, he could become the most decorated Ironman Athlete over the next years.

But Olympic Distance Triathlon when closing in on 35? I don't see it.

There's a reason track athletes progress through the distances as they get older, e.g. Ingebrigtsen who's going for 5K/10k next olympics and then marathon in 2032.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

There were rumours about UAE wanting him.

Also, I've heared that Greg Van Avermaet might become the new coach of the Belgian NT.

What does a national team manager/coach do all year? Is it really considered a prestigious role, or one in which someone can meaningfully establish credentials?

 

[Nick2413]

Pogacar and Vingegaard can relax again. Blummenfelt ditches his cycling plans: https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...esses-pause-on-project-to-win-tour-de-france/

Was that remotely serious? He’s good at IM but 15kg too heavy for the Tour and has never specifically excelled on hilly courses let alone mountains.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Ride London "paused" for 2025, to allow for "focus on a full strategic review" so they can "design a new concept". If only the same effort were put into organising races as into the creation of PR gobbledegook.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Riders on World Tour and Pro Conti teams won't be able to ride the U23 Worlds and European championships from next year

https://twitter.com/x/status/1834299219647115484

View: https://x.com/inrng/status/1834299219647115484


Strongly disagree with that myself: no point in having a WC for "some U23s". If it is not open to all who fit the age restriction, it is not about finding the world's best in that group. Open to all who meet the description, or don't hold it at all.

If some people decide that it is not presitigious for them at that point in their career, fine, but that should be their decision.

And if there are guys regularly riding WT events, and on big salaries, at the Conti level level WT feeder teams, who are to be allowed entry, why should minimum wage riders at Corratec, Euskaltel, Burgos and Novo-Nordisk be considered too professionlal for it?

 

[Samamba]

Say goodbuy to Withen Philipsen next year, Nordhagen too, maybe even Widar and Seixas (depending on if they go pro or not). Ridiculous decision. I get the annoyance about cases like Segaert, Fedorov, Gautherat now at EC, etc. but there's so many riders that are already pro that have every reason to ride in u23 races. Worlds u23 will become 10 times more useless.

Typical UCI decision. From one end of the spectrum to the other end.

Only positive is that it might make rider think twice before going pro too early, but I doubt it as being pro often simply means way more money.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Even in the older days, you had Gerald Ciolek winning a bunch sprint in the Deutschland Tour before he became U23 world champion, and Thomas Dekker competing at the Olympics and U23 WC in the same season.

For me the races have never been about crowning the very best U23 riders, so I don't mind a rule change, but only having conti riders sounds like taking it a step too far. Perhaps limiting it to riders who are in the first year at a WT team could be an idea.

 

[RedheadDane]

Weren't there a rule earlier that WT riders couldn't do the U23 races? But it got removed, resulting in much complaining.

 

[Samamba]

Even in the older days, you had Gerald Ciolek winning a bunch sprint in the Deutschland Tour before he became U23 world champion, and Thomas Dekker competing at the Olympics and U23 WC in the same season.

For me the races have never been about crowning the very best U23 riders, so I don't mind a rule change, but only having conti riders sounds like taking it a step too far. Perhaps limiting it to riders who are in the first year at a WT team could be an idea.

There's so many different rules that would eliminate the weird "unfair" cases if they really want to that don't punish other riders that should still have a chance at riding a u23 Worlds. The one you said is an option, no GT participations, no Monument participations, not WT wins, a max number of race days at pro level, I don't know but this is just stupid.

 

[Brullnux]

Ride London "paused" for 2025, to allow for "focus on a full strategic review" so they can "design a new concept". If only the same effort were put into organising races as into the creation of PR gobbledegook.

Prestigious?

 

[yaco]

An excellent decision by the UCI. Go a step further and change the under 23's to under 21's.

 

[Samamba]

An excellent decision by the UCI. Go a step further and change the under 23's to under 21's.

Yeah dude, throw everyone who isn't ready at 21 out of cycling basically. Jesus christ, just think. The amount of talent that would be lost with such a change is insane, and for absolutely no good reason.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Prestigious?

OK, bit of backing the event that is in your country, but in terms of landmarks per kilometre the final stage trumps pretty much everything except possibly the (non 2024) final stage of TdF; it was in the highest category of race possible; it usually attracted more comment here than many other WWT events; and not much wrong with the standard of palmares:

• 2024
  WIEBES Lorena
  KOOL Charlotte
  KOPECKY Lotte
• 2023
  KOOL Charlotte
  DYGERT Chloe
  DEIGNAN Elizabeth
• 2022
  WIEBES Lorena
  BALSAMO Elisa
  NORSGAARD Emma
• 2021
  not run
  
  
• 2020
  not run
  
  
• 2019
  WIEBES Lorena
  BALSAMO Elisa
  LABECKI Coryn
• 2018
  WILD Kirsten
  VOS Marianne
  BALSAMO Elisa
• 2017
  LABECKI Coryn
  HENTTALA Lotta
  BRENNAUER Lisa
• 2016
  WILD Kirsten
  KESSLER Nina
  KIRCHMANN Leah

The parcours left much to be desired (despite passing within 200m of my house), and there was a degree of predictability (final hills in Colchester and Maldon meant that at least is was a sprint that needed to be worked at). It was a keynote event for the British teams, and while not really a main season goal for the top names, they didn't refuse to attend.

So not the word I would have chosen for it, but not unreasonable claim for the press of the nation it is in to make.

 

[yaco]

Yeah dude, throw everyone who isn't ready at 21 out of cycling basically. Jesus christ, just think. The amount of talent that would be lost with such a change is insane, and for absolutely no good reason.

What talent is lost? Riders are entering the pro peleton at an earlier age, so it makes sense to change the age categories. I'd also change the young jersey categories in stage races to under 23.

So for major championships juniors are 16 to 18, and the under 21 is 19 to 21.

 

[Netserk]

Riders on World Tour and Pro Conti teams won't be able to ride the U23 Worlds and European championships from next year

Good. U23 has always been a fake category, but it serves well to develop young riders. Pros don't need to play in the sandbox. This should also strengthen the official development teams.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

What talent is lost? Riders are entering the pro peleton at an earlier age, so it makes sense to change the age categories. I'd also change the young jersey categories in stage races to under 23.

So for major championships juniors are 16 to 18, and the under 21 is 19 to 21.

For your information, 47 riders who were third- or fourth-year U23s last year made their pro debuts this year, including the likes of Ryan, Busatto, Foldager, Lamperti, Lecerf, Staune-Mittet and De Pretto. Do tell me where those riders should have gone to develop last year had they been ineligible for the U23 category. And don't argue they should have gone to a random continental team, you know as well as I do that the facilities there tend to be nowhere near what they are on the better U23 teams.

 

[yaco]

For your information, 47 riders who were third- or fourth-year U23s last year made their pro debuts this year, including the likes of Ryan, Busatto, Foldager, Lamperti, Lecerf, Staune-Mittet and De Pretto. Do tell me where those riders should have gone to develop last year had they been ineligible for the U23 category. And don't argue they should have gone to a random continental team, you know as well as I do that the facilities there tend to be nowhere near what they are on the better U23 teams.

My original post was referring to the Under 23 World's Championship and the UCI excluding WP and Pro-Conti riders from competing in this category. I am in full agreement with this decision. I then extrapolated that as younger riders are entering the peleton, then you could consider a change to the age categories for both major championship and for the young riders jersey in the pro peleton. Hence, my suggestion for the under 23 category at major championhips to consider changing it to under 21's, and in the WT changing the young jersey's to under 23.